OBJECTIVES: A MedTech Innovation Briefing (MIB) is a document produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) designed to help NHS commissioners, patients and clinicians make informed decisions about new medical technologies. Our objective was to establish how MIBs have evolved over time since the publication of the first briefing in February 2014, and to identify trends in the technologies evaluated by this process.

METHODS: Structured desk research was conducted. The number of MIBs produced per month was quantified and an analysis on the types of technologies included in the briefings was performed. Areas of interest included regulatory details, contributions from patient groups and specialists, and device cost.

RESULTS: The study showed that the number of MIBs produced each year has steadily increased between 2014 and 2016 from 17 to 42. Across all years, devices with a Class IIa or IIb CE mark remained the most common technologies selected for evaluation, as did technologies with a purchasing price between £1,000 and £10,000. Our analysis also revealed that across this timeframe, the majority of MIBs (78%) did not contain comment from patient organisations or carers, however, all briefings contained contributions from three or more specialists.

CONCLUSIONS: Whilst the number of MIBs produced each year is increasing, there remains limited patient group involvement in the development process. Due to the absence of a NICE recommendation and NHS funding mandate, MIBs are typically perceived as low profile assessments. This may contribute to the observed limited patient engagement. With the development of MedTechScan to identify technologies suitable for NICE evaluation, the quantity and diversity of MIBs is likely to increase. Implementing the Government’s Accelerated Access Review recommendations to provide funding for medical technologies approved by NICE is expected to raise the status of MIBs.